F 592 
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.L69 
Copy ^ 



SKETCH 



M(M'i'i\vetlier Lewis was born on the 18t'n day o[ AuL^'iist, 177 k lu'ar 
the town of Chai-h)tlesville, Albeniiai-h' County, Va. His fath^'i\ Wil- 
liiiin Lewis, was the youngest of five sons. Colonel llobert Lewis, of 
Albcrinaiie County, the fourth son, commanded one of the i'e<^iments 
first raised in Virginia and plaeed on the continental establishment. 
John Lewis, one of his father's uncles, was a member of the King's 
Council before the Revoluti(;n; another of them, Fiehling Lewis, mar- 
ried a sister of General Washington. 

Merriwether Lewis lost his father when he was quite young. He 
continued some years under the care of his mother. At thirteen years 
of age he was placed at a Latin school, where he continued for five 
Shears, when he returned home and took charge of his mother's farm. 
At the age of twenty he enlisted as a volunteer in the body of militia 
called out by General Wasiiington on occasion of the discontents pro- 
duced by the excise ]aw^s in the western i^art of the United States. 
From this he was removed to the regular service, and I'eceived ap- 
pointment as a lieutenant in the line. At the age of twenty-three he 
was promoted to a captaincy, and was soon after made paymaster of 
his regiment. About this time, and during Mr. Jefferson's residence 
in Paris, John Ledvard, of Connecticut, arrived there with tlie object 
of engaging a mercantile company in tlic fur trade of the western 
part of America, in which, however, he failed. He had accompanied 
Captain Cook in his voyage to the Pacific Ocean, and he distinguished 
himself for his Valor and endurance. 

Mr. Jefferson proposed to him to make his way by land to Kam- 
Rchatka, embark in a Russian vessel for Nootka Sound, pass into the lati- 
tude of Missouri and thence into the United States. Mr. Ledvard was 
pleased with the suggestion, and Mr. Jefferson obtained from Baron 
de Grimm, M. P., of Saxe-Gotha, the special agent of the Russian Gov- 
ernment, then residing in Paris, permission from the Empress of Rus- 
sia to pass through her territories with an assurance of protection. 

Ledyard left Paris and j)rocccde(l to St. Petcisburg after the Em- 
press had left there for Moscow. Procuring a pa.ssport from one of the 
ministers, he left St. Petersburg, but was com})cllcd to take up his winter 
quarters about two hundred miles from Kam.schatka. While making 
preparations to resume his jouriKn^ in the s|)ring he was arrested i)y an 



4 SKKI'CIL OK (iOVKUXoi: M lOP.HIW KTii KK LEWIf% 

()lii •■ r oi' t!ie iMii[)rfss, put in a close cniTiaii'e niul {-onvi'ved a pi'isoner 
t'l Pwlaiitl, where he. was set down and left. ''JMius ended t.liis exi>editlr)n_ 

111 171)2 Ml'. Jeilei'son eone'eived the i<]ea of settinL!' on foot a sub- 
sci'iption to einplov some competent jktsoii to e.xpUu'e this same re- 
gion in the oppo.-^iie direction; that is, )>v ascending the Missouri 
liiv^er, crossing the Stony or Rocky Mountains, and descending tlie 
nearest river to the Pacific Ocean. At this time Captain Lewis w-as 
stationed at (Jharlottesville, Va., on recruiting service, and lie solicited 
Mr. Jeffei'son to obtain for him the appointment. It being im[)ortaiit 
that the person engaged shoold liave a single companion oidy,(it being 
thought that a large niind)er would e.xcite alarm among the Indians,) 
Mr. Andre Michoux, a botanist and author of the ''Flora Boreali-Ame7-i- 
can;'/a. " and of the ''Histoire des Chenes d' A nieri<jf(c," wns employed as 
his comjianion. Captain Lewis having received his instructions, set 
out in company of Mr. Michoux, a)id had proceeiled as far as Kentucky 
when Mr Michoux was ovei'taken by an order from the French Minister 
to relinquish the expedition, and by this means the second attempt 
for exploring that region was defeated. 

In 1808, the act o[ Congress establishing trading liouseswith the In- 
dians being about to expire. President Jefferson, in a confidential mes- 
sage to Congress, recommended some modifications of tlie law and its 
extension to the Indian tribes on the Missoni'i. The message recom- 
mended that an exploring party be sent out to trace the Missouri River 
to its source : to cross the highlands and follow the best water commu- 
nication to be found from theiice to the Pacific Ocean. The pro|)osi- 
tion met the approval of Congress, and a sum of money was voted to 
put it into execution. Ca|.)tain Lewis had been serving for two years 
previous to tlie passage of this act as private secretary to President 
Jefferson, and immediately on its jmssage he ap})lied to the President 
for the appointment of director to the expedition. " Knowing bini 
from long and intimate association (we quote the language of Mr. Jef- 
ferson) to have courage undaunted, possessing a firmness and persever- 
ance of purpose which nothing but impossibilities couhl divert from 
its direction ; careful as a father of thcxse committed to his charge, yet 
steady in the maintenance of order and disci])line ; intimate with the In- 
dian character, customs and pi-inci[>les, * * * * I could have no 
hesitation in confiding the enterprise to him." Mr. Jefiierson, thinking 
it necessary that Captain Ljvvis should have associated with him some^'- 
person of known competence, and to wdiom, in the event of any acci- 
dent to him, the direction of the enterpi'ise might be confided, Mr. Wil- 



Si,_-^ .. 



GOV. MERRIWETHER LEWIS 



By General Marcus J.' Wright. 



[First published in the June number, 1876, of " Ware's Valley Monthly."] 



WASHINGTON, D. C 
\ 



SKETCH OF (iOVEKNOU M KIIKIWKTHKR !.K\V1S. .') 

linm Clarke, brotlicr (*f General Gcorpx' Kogei-s CI; rke. wns api* 'ininl 
and received the (ioinrnissioii of a ea|itain. 

Full instructions in writinir luwing; been farnis'.icd liini, I'resident 
JeH-erson also wi'ot*; and delivered him a lettei', as f-illows: 

UXITKB StATVV: of AmKRICA. 

WashiiiriioH. Juh/4. 180:). 
To Cavtaix MnKinwiviiiKR Lkwis, 

He vu Sni : In tlic journcv you :iro aliout. to unilertake for tlip ■liscovoi-y of the coursn 
and source of tljc Missouri. i\\u\ of tlie most eoKveniput watci- comniunicntiou from 
thence.to the Pacific Ocean, your party heinjf small, it is to 1).> cqiected ihat, you will 
encounter considerable dangers from the Indian inhabitants. Should you escape those 
dangers and reach the Pacific Ocean, you may find it imjirudenf to hazard a return the 
same way, and be forced to seek a passage round by sea in such vi^ssels as yon may find 
on the western coast ; but you will be without money, without c'othes and other neces- 
saries, as a sufficient supply cannot bo carried from hence. Your resource, in that 
case, can only be in The credit of the United States, for which pnr;>ose I hereby authorize 
you to draw on the Secretaries of State, of the Treasury, of War, and of the Navy of 
the United States, according as you may find your drafts most negotiable, for the 
purpose of obtaining money or necessaries for yonr.self and men : and I solemnly pledge 
the faith of the United States that these drafts shall be paid jiunctually at the date 
at which they are made payable. I also a.sk of the consuls, ageiVs. merchants, and cit- 
izens of any nation with which we have intercourse or amnesty, to furnish you with those 
supplies which your necessities may call for, assuring them of honoral)le and prompt 
retribution : and our consuls in foreign ports, where you n^ay ha.ijicn to be, are hereby 
instructed and rerpiircd to be aiding and assisting to you in whatsoever may be neces- 
sary for procuring your return back to the United States. And, to give more entire 
satisfaction and confidence to those who may be disposed to aid you, I, Thomas Jeffer- 
son, President of the United States of America, have written this letter of general credit 
for vou with mv own hand, and signed it with mv name. 

THOMAS JEFFERSON, 
Preshkuf of the United States of America, 

The draught, of instructions for that expedition gave full details of 
the instruments to be carried for measurement and observation, etc. 
It recited that the object of the mission had been cointnunicated to the 
ministei's in Washington, of France, Spain, and Great Bi'itan, and that 
the country of Louisiana having been ceded by Spain to France, a pass- 
port fiom the minister from France had been obtained. It further 
stated that the object <>f the niissicm was to explore the Missouri River 
and sueh pi-iiieip;tl sti'eams of, it as, by its course an(j commuincation 
with the waters of the Pacilic Ocean, whether the Columbia, Oregon, 
Colorado, or iiny other river, might offer the most dii'ect and ])i'acticable 
water communication ticross the continent for the purpose of commerce. 
It was direeted that op(M';itions should be begun ;it tht? mouth of the 
Miss<Miri River: that observations of latitude and longitude should be 
tid\en at ;dl remarkable ])oints on the river: thtit the course of the river 
between [)oints of (ibserv;ili<iu sIkxiIiI be supplied by the compass, the 



6 , SK1'7I'CII OF (lOVKKN'Ull M KlUinVKTHEU LEWIS. 

log-litie, and by time coi'i'ected bv tiie observations themselves. The 
intercstinu' points of the porta^.'^e between the heads of the Missouri and 
of the water offerinti' ihe lu-st eommunieation with tlie Paeilie Oeean 
were directed t(~) be Wxt'd hy oliscrvation, and tlie eoui'se of that water 
to the ocean in the same manner as that of the ^[issoni'i. 

Special instiau tions wei'e ^-iven to the director of the expedition to 
make liimseU' acrpuiinted w'itli ihe names of the nations of Indians he 
should encounter and theii' numbers. lie was also to inquire and as- 
certain the e/.tent of theii" possessions; their relations W'ith other tribes 
or nations; tlieir lanizua^ije, traditions, monuments; their ordinary oe- 
cupations in agi'ieidture. fishinu', hunting', war, arts, and the implements 
for tliese; theii' food, clothing, and domestic accommodations; the dis- 
eases |)i-evalent among them, and the remedies they usa.; the moi'al and 
})hysical circumstances wdiieh distinguished them from known tribes; 
peculiarities in their laws, customs, and dispositions; articles of com- 
merce they had or lacked, and the state of morality and religion among 
them. Should any of the influential chiefs or any of the tribes desire 
to visit the United States, they were to be brought at the public ex- 
pense, and ])romised instruction, if they desii'ed it, in sucli arts as might 
be useful to them. It was directed that some matter of the kine-pox 
be carried, and the Indians be informed of its use and efficacy. In- 
structions were given to gather information of the character and extent 
of the country w^atered bv the branches of the Missouri, and especially 
on its southern side; and that if the expedition succeeded in reaching 
the Pacific Ocean, information should be sought as to whether the furs 
of those parts might not be collected as advantageously at the head of 
the Missouri as at Nootka Sound, or any point on that coast. It was 
also suggested that as far uyj the Missouri as the white settlements ex- 
tended it would probably be found tliat some sort of intercourse existed 
between them and the Spanish posts of St. Louis, opposite Caliokia, or 
St. Geneveive, opposite Kaskaskia. 

l^hus fully equipped and instructed for his arduous undertaking, 
Captain Lewis left Washington on the 5th of July, 1803, and pro- 
ceeded at once to Pittsburg, where many of the articles ))re])ared and 
fitted for the us'e of the expedition had been forwarded. The men to 
accompany him were to be selected from the military posts on the Ohio 
River. Many causes conspired to retard the movement of the expedi- 
tion, among whic'n, not the least, was the dilfieulty of navigation down 
the Oliio. Ilence the party did not arrive at Cahokia until the season 
was too far advanced to enter the Missouri with safctv, and the move- 



SKETCH OF GOVERXOI! .M iORUl W'KTII Kll LEWIS. , 7 

intMU was (lelaycfl until the succeeding sj)i-ing oi- suinmci'. Accord- 
ingly, in the eai'lv part of the spring of ISO-t, due prc[);ir,ition having 
been made, the party started forth on their arduous and hazardou.-? ex- 
pedition. It consisted of Captain Lewis, Captain Chirke, nine 3''oung 
men from Kentucky, fourteen United States soldiers, two Canailiari 
boatuKMi, and a negro servant of Captain Clarke. 

Captain William Clarke, see(Mid in the expeditinn, was born in Vir- 
ginia August 1, 1770. In 1784 ids father remox'ed to Kentucky and 
settled on the jux'sent site of the cit}' of Louisville. Having become 
acquainted with tlie modes of Indian uarfare at an early age, he was 
n[)p<>inted wiicneiu'hteea years old an ensign, and at once entered on 
active duty. In March, 1792, he was appointed a lieutenant of infantry, 
and was jiiMmotcd in the following vear to the pla.ce of adjutant and 
quai'terniastei-, but I'esigned in July, 17*.)(), on accou.nt of his health, 
lie soon afterwards moved to Si. Louis, and in 18"3 was appointed V)_y 
President Jeflferson a lien.tenant of ;irtill<M'y, with orders to join Cap- 
tain Lewis in his western e.xpeditiou. \Yc may here sum up brielly 
the remainder of his life. In 180'J he was pi-cjmoted to first lieutenant 
of artillery. President Jelt'erson sLt!)S(Mpiently appointed iiim a lieu- 
tenant-colonel, but tlie appointment was netiatived by the Senate. lie 
resigned in 1807, and was apj)ointed l)rigadiei"-general of the nulitia 
for the Territory of Upper Louisiana. In 1818 President Madison ap- 
pointed him Governor of ^lissouri Tijrritoi'y, which position he held 
and tilled with great credit until theoiganization of Missouri as a State 
in 1821. lie was then nominated for Gcn-ernor against his consent and 
was defeated in the election. In May, 1822, President Mailison ap- 
pointed him Su[)erintendent of Indian .Vlfaii's, which he held until the 
time of his death, which occurred in St. Loids Sej)tend)er 1,1838. 

The little party commenced their journey by slowly ascending the 
then unexplored Missouri River, and after the severest labor and rhany 
sufferings and dangers reached the country of the Mandans, where 
they sj)ent the second wiiUer, in latitude 47° and 2L north, (^n the 
2d of April, 1805, they resumed their movement u]) the Miss<iuri, and 
reached the great falls about the middle of June. Above the falls, 
towards the last of July, they reaciu>(l a point where three streams, 
nearly equal in si/e, converged into one. These they named Jefferson, 
Madison, and Gallatin, in honor of the President, Secretary of State, 
and Secretary <>[ the Treasury. From this ])oint tliey ascended the 
Jefi'erson, the largest of the thret; streams, and the nortiiern branch to 
its soui'cc. Proi'uring hoi-s<-s and n 'jidde from tjje Shoshone Indians. 



b SKETCH OF (iOVEKNOK MEKJilW ETHER Ei^WIS. 

in the month of August tliev sti'uck for the niDUUtains nm\ traveled 
through them until the 22il of Septemher. wlion they entei'ed the plains 
of the great western slope. On the 7th of Oeto'oci- tht-y embarked in 
canoes on the Kooskooskv, a left bi'aneh of the Columbia iiiver, and 
on th.e 15th of Novemiier readied the mouth of that great r!\-ei'. 

In t'neir journeyings they had now traveled over four tiiousand 
miles from the eonduenee of ihe Mississi)ipi and Missouri, '^rian' passed 
the third winter in iin intreiiclusd (/am]) on the south l)ank of the Col- 
umbia Jiiver, and on tlie 23d of A[;irch, 180(5, Itroke up eamj) and be- 
gan to reaseend the Columbia, iiiver. Finding tlie aseent of the river 
perilous and very laborion.^, tl.iey left their boats on the 2d of Mav and 
traversed the coniitry across the mountains on hoi'seback' with the 
greatest ditficriity, suffering many hardships and privations, and sub- 
ject at all times to great dan-jer. They at last succeeded in ''eaehing 
the ^[issouii Klver on the 12th of August, and reached St. Louis on 
the 2od of Se[:>tember, after an absence of two veai's and foui' months. 
Mr. Jefferson, in his sketch of Governoi" Lewis, speaking of the i"c- 
turn of the e.xpedition, says: 

N<'Vi'i- di'l a similar event excite more jet)' through the United States. The humlilest 
of its citizens had taken a lively interest in the issue of this journev, and looked forward 
with ininatience for the information it would furnish. Theiranxiety, too, for the safety 
of the corps had been kept in a state of exclteuient liy lugubrious rumors circulated 
from time to time on uncertain authorities, and unccmtradicted by letters or other di- 
rect information from the time they had left the Mandan towns, on their ascent up the 
river in A]jril of tlie jvreceding year, 180"). until their actual return to St. Louis. 

In the month of February, 1807, Messrs. L"wis and Clarke reached 
AVasiiington City, Congress being tlien in session. An act was soon 
{)assed granting to each of them and their companions the donation of 
lands wiiich 'lad been promised, them, and which tliey so iaehly de- 
servc<1 from theii' country, as a I'eward for tlieir toils and dangers and 
in recogiiition of the great service th(,'v hadi rendered the Govern.ment. 

Captain Leuds was soon a.fter ap]K)inteil (jovernor of Louisiana, with 
his co:idjutor. Captain Clarke, as general of its militia. 

Some time ckijised. l;efore (ri>vernoi' I^ewis reached St. Louis. On 
bis arrival there he found tlie T(^rritory almost in a state of anarchv, 
■distracted by feuds and quari-els ateiong the officers, and the people 
greatly discontented. Mr. Jefferson s.ay-;: 

He determined at once to take no sides with either party. Imt to use every endciivor 
to conciliate and harmonize them. The even-lumded .iustie(> he administered to all 
soon established a respect for his person and authority, And i)erseverance and time 
wore down aiiinio;nlies and reuiiiti-d the eitizeus a,uaiii inlo imi' liimilv. 



SKETCH OF COVKItNOl!, MEHIU \VK TIlKll LEWIS. 9 

Governor Tjcnvis b.'nl bet^n subject from early life to fits of despond- 
ency or melancholy, a iliseasc which h(> had inherited from his father. 
His affaii's rendering- it necessary for him lo visit Washington, he pro- 
ceeded down tiie river to th(^ iliird Chickasaw Blnff, the present site of 
the city of Mem})his, Tenn., with a view of continuing his journey on 
to New Orleans, and thtMice by a oasting vessel. Mi". Neely, who was 
the agent of the T'nited States with the Ciiickasaw Indians, having ar- 
rived at tlio Blnfr abont this time, found the Governoi' cpute indisposed 
ami showing evident occasional syniptoins of derangement of mind. 
Rumors of a war with Er,glan([ were then prevalent, and fearing the 
loss of bis papers, among which were tlie vouchers of his accounts with 
the Government and the journal of his western expedition, he changed 
his determination of proceeding down tlie river and started westward 
through the Chickasaw countr3^ accompanied by Mr. Neely and his 
French valet After passing the Tennessee River abont one day's jour- 
ney, two of their horses wCi'e lost, which caused ^h: Neely to halt, Gov- 
ernor Lewis ju'ocecding on his way, with a |)iY)nnse to stop and await 
Mr. Neel_y's ari'ival at the house of the first white inhabitant lie shoidd 
iind on the r(uul. Leaving Mr. Neely, the remainder of the ]iarty pro- 
ceeded on their journey, and stooped at the residence of a Mr. Grinder. 
Mr. Grinder being absent from home, his wife became alarmed at the 
symptoms of derangement slie discovered in Govermn' Lewis, and for 
some time refnsed to give hei* consent to allow him to p:!ss the night 
there, but he finally pi^evailed on her to give her consent. Tb.e house was 
a double log-cabin, with a hall between the two rooms; Governor Lewis 
occupied one of the rooms, Mrs. Grinder tiie otlif^r. About 8 o'clock 
in the night ^\\<. Gi'iiidcM" heard the sound of the discharge of a pistol, 
and very soon afterwards Governor Lewis called to iier to bring him 
.some water. Although the I'equest was made in a pleasant and polite 
manner, she was afraid to leave hci- room, and did not go. A^ei'y soon 
the sound of another ])isto| shot was heard, and on entering tlie I'ooni 
Governor Lewis was found dead in his bed with a bullet hole under 
the chin, and leading u[> to and through the skull. Tiius passed awaj"- 
Merriwether Lewis, a man of culture, ivravery, and integrity, and to 
whose energy and determined bravery we are indebted for the fii-sfc re- 
liable information respecting the greatest and most prosperous ]^arts of 
our country — destined to be the site of the arts and sciences, and to 
contain within a shoi't ])criod a ])eoplc happy and |)rospcrous, and out- 
numbering in p(^pulatiou some of the oUlest and grandest empires of 
the world. 



10 SKETCH OF GOYKKNOi; MKKI'JWE'I. Al EEWIS. 

About tlie center of tlie county of Lewis, in INIiddle Tennessee, 
(named in honoi- oE Governor Lewis,) in the midst of an uninhabited 
country, surrounded onl}' bv the native growtli of the forest and where 
but few travelers pass, on tlie line of the old Natchez Tra(;e, there 
stands a grev stone monument, com[)osed of native rock, with a shaft 
of limestone in imitation of a giant of the foi'est untimely broken, 
erected to the memory of Mei-ri wether Lewis by the Genei'al Assembly 
of Tennessee. The monument was put up in the year 18d8. It stands 
on the crest of a broad, high ridge, with deep gorges running east and 
west, and near the spot where he came to his death by his own hands. 
Its entire height is twenty-live feet, and the whole is surrounded by an 
iron railing. The munume)it has inscribed on the west siih; : 

MEllPJWETIIER LEWIS, 
B(jrn near Charlottesville, Va., August ISth. 1774. 
Died Octol)er 11 th, 1801). 
Aged ;>! years. 

On the south side is the following: 

An officer in the regiihir army. Private Secretary to President Jefferson, Commander 
of the expedition to the Oregon in 1803-18()(J, Governor of the Territory of Louisiana. 
His meU\ncholy death occurred where liis monument now stands, under wliich rest 
his mortal remains. 

On the east side, in the language of Mr. Jefferson : 

His courage was undaunted ; his firmness and perseverance yielded to nothing but 
impossibilities; a rigid disciplinarian, yet tender as a fother of those committed to his 
charge; honesi, disinterested, liberal — with a sound understanding and scrupulous 
fidelity to truth. 

The north side has a Latin inscription, so much defaced that it could 
not be copied. Under the Latin inscription are these words: 

Erected by the Legislature of Teunessee, A. D. 1848. 

Columbia, Texx., April, iSlG. 

Note. — The writer acknowledges his obligations to Major Boiling Gordon, Mr. Robt. 
M. Cooper, and R. 0. Smith, of Maury County, I'enn., for valuable information fur- 
nished during the preparation of this article. 



LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 



016 092 112 2 



